The Good Wife and Philosophy (Popular Culture & Philosophy)

The Good Wife gives us courtroom battles in the tradition of Perry Mason, with the added dimension of a political intrigue and a tormented personal story. We witness the interplay between common morality and legal correctness; sometimes following one violates the other. Lawyers operate within the law and within legal ethics, yet routinely do harmful things in pursuit of their clients interests. The adversarial system leads to such strategies as stringing out a case to exhaust the other sides resources and bringing suits ostensibly because of wrongdoing by defendants but really to curtail the defendants as a competitive threat to some important clients interest.

The idea for The Good Wife came from the recurring news drama of wives standing by their husbands when scandal breaks: the wives of Bill Clinton, Elliott Spitzer, and John Edwards. Often these politicians spouses are themselves lawyers who have had to cope with the gray areas of legal battles and maneuvering. Following her husbands disgrace and imprisonment, Alicia Florrick has to return to the law, which she abandoned for the sake of being a full-time wife and mother.

Robert Arp is author and editor of numerous books, book chapters, and articles on philosophy and philosophy and pop culture. He currently works as a data analyst with the US Army.